People from different walks of life, including Hindu seers and political party leaders, under the banner of the Odisha Surakhya Sena, an organisation fighting against the slaughtering of cows in the State, on Saturday demanded the implementation of the Orissa Prevention of Cow Slaughters Act, 1960, Act 5 of 1961 in letter and spirit.
“Even though the State Government framed stringent rules to curb cow slaughter, it remains confined to paper only. It has been noticed that there is a lack of political will to enforce the law by the successive Governments,” said Sena president Avishek Joshi. Staging a demonstration here at Mahatma Gandhi Marg, the protestors also demanded strengthening of the existing Act.
“The Act prohibits slaughter of cows, calves of cows. We demand that criminal action be initiated against the offenders as per the law,” said BJP spokesperson Sajjan Sharma. In connection with the implementation of the Act, Sharma said no stringent actions have been noticed against the offenders except police just registering a case.
Stating that cow slaughter under several laws is a cognisable offence, all the participants unanimously demanded that criminal action be initiated against the offenders as per the laws. The Sena also submitted a memorandum to the Chief Minister to this effect.